First real trip to London!

[aristotle95]

Hi everyone,
After talking to Yorkie over PM's and being given a link to virgins cheap London travel I am hoping to take the journey with my girlfriend from Leeds.
Now this is where the fun begins... I have only been to London to once and that was with Highschool about 6 years ago now! So my memory of London is a little vague...

I have booked tickets that get into London KGX at 12:33, and that leaves KGX at 20:35. My first issue however is that the reserved seats on the way back are opposite one another on a table which isn't ideal however am I right in thinking that we wont have a problem sitting next to one another anyway if the seats available? Are there any "unreserved" seating areas on any of the carriages we will be able to sit on? I've never travelled with virgin as you can probably tell so don't know how their system works.

So basically I am wondering what is a nice trip out in London that can be achieved in a day? Sightseeing would be nice, Big Ben, Houses of parliament etc. However I have no idea what to do in regards to travel from KGX. Obviously I know about the Tube, but have no idea where all those fast moving pods go, or where I would end up if i got on one! Let alone how I go about paying?

We are not looking at travelling far, just around the centre of London, grabbing some lunch and food for tea and heading back to leeds.
Any advice for nice places to go and a plan of the day would be great!

Thank a lot, all help i've had so far has been above and beyond anything I expected!

 

[Kristofferson]

Don't do the tourist stuff, it's rubbish. The attractions and surrounding areas are overpriced, rammed with overseas tourists, the food is crap and you'll leave saying "let's never go there again"

London is a great city if you see it through a local's (we all know nobody lives in zone 1, so I mean "commuter's") eyes!

I don't know what you're into, but I'd recommend the following for an enjoyable, tourist free time:

- Head to Liverpool Street (15 min on the Circle from KGX), then take a wander through the skyscraper-laden City to Farringdon (about a 30min walk).
- Farringdon is a villagey, quiet part of town. Grab some lunch here in Byron (burgers), Benito's Hat (burritos) or the Tasty Cafe (proper full English) depending on your tastes.
- It's a 5 minute walk from here to the Barbican Estate. Take the bridge from Barbican station and wander through this incredible Brutalist/Modernist estate. The terrace is a "haven of peace" in the city, so pop into the concert hall via here. The Costa here has recently been replaced by bloody Benugo, so I can't recommend stopping for a coffee.
- Access to Bank station is easy from Farringdon and Barbican, so take the Waterloo & City from here to the South Bank. Stay away from the touristy Eye (you'll see it at least!) and stop for a bit in the gardens opposite the Shell Centre (Jubilee Gardens I think?). You can also see the Houses of Parliament/Large Benjamin from here.
- From here, you can either pop into the Namco Arcade for some games if that's your bag, or wander down the south bank past the National Theatre (yes, you can see the Shard).
- Food options on the south bank are good, with Black & Blue (steak), Wahaca (Mexican)... and of course maccy D's
- The above should fill a few hours if not more and you'll have seen both "decent" London and the "sights" (from a safe distance!).
- You can head back to KGX easily from here (Northern Line) and the KGX area is not short of food options if you weren't hungry around Waterloo! I don't know too much about the local area, but can recommend Honest Burger just up the road from Mc D's or the Parcel Yard pub at the station.

Yes, with my itinerary you'll miss Hyde flippin' Park, Leicester bloomin' Square, Buck Palace (best seen from the window of an Uber as you pass the crowds) and Oxford flamin' Street, but they're really not all that and are too damn busy to actually appreciate during daylight hours!

Whatever you choose, I wish you an enjoyable trip!

 

[96tommy]

Do the tourist stuff! London is a superb place to visit. Having travelled here many times as a tourist, it is odd living in this fantastic City but I still visit the same sites week in week out. It is such a big place you could spend a couple of weeks here and still en up missing out on loads so the following plan is what I believe fits in the most tourist spots in a short place of time. It is the one I followed most times I came down when I lived near Leeds before moving down here for Uni.

Don't worry about reserved seats. I travel most weeks between London and Leeds but rarely sit in my reserved seat. Just make sure you are on the correct train.
I would get a Zone 1-2 travelcard which entitles you to travel on buses and tube. You should be able to buy it on the train to save any queues at ticket machines at KGX.

If the weather is good and you don't mind walking, I always find the following a good sightseeing treat.

You might want to get a bite of lunch around King's Cross, plenty of places around there.

Take a Piccadilly Line train to Green Park. (Alternatively, you could get the 73 bus to Grosvenor Place which is a few minutes walk from Buckingham Palace. This bus goes through Oxford Street so you would see a lot more from it!) Walk the short distance to Buckingham Palace then take a walk along The Mall to Trafalgar Square. From there, it is a short walk down Whitehall to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Ideally, walk on the right side of Whitehall as if facing from Trafalgar Square to Big Ben as you will pass Downing Street and the Household Cavalry.

The London Eye will be opposite you over Westminster Bridge. I often walk to Embankment then get a Northern Line train to Leicester Square. Personally I would aim to get there for around 5/6pm to get a bite to eat. There are also a number of attractions around there. Covent Garden is just a short walk away which is great to see in the evening. Don't get the tube between the two (it is only a 20 second tube ride!)

Afterwards, take the 91 bus or the tube back to King's Cross. If you get there for 7:30, take a look around the marvellous St Pancara's station.

Tip: Have a look at Real Time Trains to see which platform the 20:35 is departing from. You can get to your train before other passengers as the platform is usually not announced until 15 minutes before departure, this will give you time to look at what seats are available.

Buses are the best way of transport I find for tourists. You get to see much more obviously from Buses than deep Underground. However, the tube does save a lot of time.

The plan above should be easily manageable in the time you are in London. Plus seeing Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, Downing Street, Whitehall, Leicester Square, Covent Garden and the London Eye means a lot of attractions can be ticked off in an afternoon. Just make sure there are no engineering works taking place on the Underground on the day you decide to travel.


Any further questions, feel free to ask. I know London like the back of my hand, bit of a London geek truth be told.

 

[Diplodicus]

What sorts of things interest you and also your girlfriend? There are some great free attractions but if you're not into art, then suggesting the Nat'l Gallery is of no help.

 

[me123]

Do you and your girlfriend have contactless debit/credit cards? If so, your cheapest way to travel will probably be to use that. You simply tap it on the Oyster reader when you go in, and again when you go out of the tube station. (Or just tap in on the bus). You won't pay more than £6.50 for the day, which is much cheaper than a paper travelcard (and may be even cheaper if you don't travel that much). Best of all, no queues anywhere. You just walk up to the barriers and you're on your way.

There's lots to do in London, and Id agree that it's very hard to suggest things to do for just one day without knowing a bit more about what you want to see. There are so many free museums and attractions in London, and I'm sure you find something you'd both enjoy. Here's a link to a few ideas, all of which are free. There's lots of nice parks and open spaces in London. You could easily spend your team just wandering and sightseeing - I found a lot of the sights to be much closer together than you'd probably expect - "96Tommy"'s guide is pretty good.

If you can't find somewhere to eat in London, you're not looking hard enough. Might be worthwhile having the TripAdvisor app on your phone to look for good places nearby.

If you're just going for a few hours, I'd avoid queuing for the London Eye and Madame Tussauds and other big, expensive, famous things - you'll be queueing for a while and they cost a lot of money. If you're particularly keen to go on the Eye, then go for it, but if you've only got eight hours there's so much more you could do with that time.

 

[DarloRich]

do you want to do things that you might both enjoy as i assume your gf wont wont to spot trains tbh i wouldn't follow Kristoffersons advice ( good as it is for something different) on your first trip to London. I would suggest you want to see, but perhaps not pay to enter all of the touristy things.

 

[telstarbox]

If the weather is good I'd walk from Westminster to St Paul's along the south side of the river. This will take you past (or into) Parliament, the Thames, the London Eye, the Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge. There are plenty of cafes and pubs along the way as well.

Map for this route:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/W...501a9af5fde!2m2!1d-0.0983506!2d51.5138453!3e2

Don't try to fit too much into one day - you can always come back

Transport wise:

Tubes are colour-coded by line and stop at every stop on the map. You touch in and out at the barriers. https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/tube

Buses are marked with their route numbers and destination eg "9 - Hammersmith", "38 - Clapton Pond". There are now display screens and audio announcements so you shouldn't get lost. (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrTdq4DNnuI) You touch in when you board only and there is a flat fare.

You might like to ride on one of the "New Routemaster" bus routes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Routemaster#Operation

 

[glbotu]

The only food-related advice I've seen so far is chain-related. That would be kind of a waste of being in London, which has easily the most diverse set of restaurants/cafes etc anywhere in the country. The only thing I'd avoid other than chain restaurants in Central London is pubs. Largely, if you walk around somewhere central (Soho, Charing Cross etc) you'll find a nice restaurant pretty damn quickly (within 10 minutes) at pretty much any time of the day.

 

[DarloRich]

If the weather is good I'd walk from Westminster to St Paul's along the south side of the river. This will take you past (or into) Parliament, the Thames, the London Eye, the Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge. There are plenty of cafes and pubs along the way as well.

that is a good idea - i also like the Thames Clipper River boats as they offer some nice views and a fairly quiet way to get around

 

[AM9]

It's not clear to me but if you are travelling at the weekend, it would be worth checking for central London tube line closures. Go here:
https://tfl.gov.uk/tube-dlr-overground/status/
and check for planned closures, (there are usually alternative routes between locations on the many lines). You may be able to change the order of visits to attractions.
Have a good day when you go.

 

[RichmondCommu]

If you have the weather than I would recommend trying to fit in a walk up Primrose Hill which is just a few minutes walk from Chalk Farm tube station. The walk up from Chalk Farm is not especially steep and the views of Central London are fantastic.

In terms of getting either lunch or dinner in London its worth noting that food and drink in the centre of the capital tends to be pricey and at times can be very expensive if you're not used to London. Bearing this in mind assuming that you don't mind entering pubs I would go for the Wetherspoon's in Soho as a place to have dinner before heading home. The Parcel Yard at Kings Cross is very nice but also very expensive, even by station pub standards and in particular Fullers pubs standards.

One last thing; London is a fantastic city and also on the whole a very safe one. However, where there are tourists there are pick pockets so please be very careful with your valuables. Please do not put either your wallet or phone in your bag, instead make sure that both are in your front pockets at all times.

Have a wonderful day and I hope you have the weather!

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Best places to eat in London are the non-chain , locally owned cafe's - as around Bloomsbury and even the "Modern" on Pentonville Road - yards from Kings Cross station.

I took my then girlfriend in 1977 on her first ever trip to London on the North London line from Broad St - Richmond , for a mere 66 pence (day rover) ...

 

[RichmondCommu]

Best places to eat in London are the non-chain , locally owned cafe's - as around Bloomsbury and even the "Modern" on Pentonville Road - yards from Kings Cross station.

I concur however if you are new to London and are only down for the day checking various cafe's before deciding where to eat all takes time. Just my opinion though

 

[Kristofferson]

Chain related yep, but chains that you don't really see outside the city

 

[47403]

i went there with my 8yr old daughter in August, she wanted to see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben but we also went to Shreks Adventure its quite pricey but I enjoyed it as much as she did. If its your type of thing, there was as many adults, in the 18-25 range as kids. Plus over Westminster bridge is a Mcdonalds, you can always take a trip along the Thames and kill 2 birds with one stone as Big Bens there too.

https://www.shreksadventure.com/london/

 

[dgl]

When I went (again) in October a £15 oyster top-up (or, I assume, the same amount on contactless) would let me do Z1-3 + Emirates Air Line (one way) + Thames Clipper to Canary Wharf (from the O2 ). If that gives you more options.

 

[IanM]

I would recommend the Sky Garden, it's high enough to give great views across London and it's free, but you do need to book in advance. I took my 10 year old Godson just before Christmas and he loved it, you see a completely different view of London from up there.
http://skygarden.london/sky-garden

 

[Camden]

What sort of things interest you? London has almost everything. http://www.visitlondon.com/

For travel, you could both sign up for a TfL account and then link your contactless debit cards. This will allow you to use your contactless debit cards as Oyster cards, giving you the preferential travelcard rates (maximum of £6.30 for a whole day's travel across bus and tube within zones 1 and 2, rather than £12 for a paper travelcard).

https://account.tfl.gov.uk/register

If you don't have contactless cards, then if you have enough time you can apply for visitor's Oysters https://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/london-visitor-oyster-card/ but contactless card is better as you don't have to top up, just have funds in your bank account.

To use Oyster/contactless, basically you just tap in with your card at the start of your journey, and tap out with the same card when you've finished your journey. The fees will be capped at the appropriate amount during the day https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares

 

[Bevan Price]

The bus gives you better views than the underground, but can be very slow, especially at peak hours. The Central Bus Map shows what bus routes are available. You can download copies, but beware, it is a VERY large file, and is slow to download each time you change the zoom setting (unless you have very fast broadband). Paper copies are available from some London (TFL) enquiry offices.

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/central-london-bus-map.pdf

Be aware - everything will probably take at least twice as long as you anticipate, and I suggest you start your return to Kings Cross at around an hour before departure time. Don't try to do too much in one day.

If your girl friend wants to go shopping, bus 73 takes you from Kings Cross along Oxford Street. If you are more interested in "tourist locations", get off the bus near Tottenham Court Road Station, and then (weather permitting), you can walk to Trafalgar Square, then to Westminster Abbey or Parliament, either along the river Embankment, or direct via Whitehall. Buckingham Palace is also within walking distance if you have time. Enjoy your trip.

Allow at least 2 hours if you want to visit any art galleries or museums.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

You might like to have a look at the Railcard London 2 for 1 offers. Details of how to apply here.

Many of the 'attractions' become rather more attractive at half the price.

Sorry if its already been mentioned here, didn't see it if it has.

 

[me123]

I concur however if you are new to London and are only down for the day checking various cafe's before deciding where to eat all takes time. Just my opinion though

That's what I like about TripAdvisor. The app lets you find out at a glance what's near you, and if it's got good reviews. Of course, it's not 100% reliable, but you get a good idea if it's good or not.

 

[TonyR]

I don't know whether this is your thing but an alternative to buses or walking which gives you great flexibility is the Boris Bikes. You can pick them up and drop them off all over the city and apart from the initial charge of £2, they are free provided you don't exceed 30 mins per journey. They get you around quickly and you get to see lots of London so just pick one up, cycle to your first sight, drop the bike off, sightsee, pick up another bike to go to your next sight. Repeat as needed.

 

[Kristofferson]

It should be noted that it's largely impossible to actually shop in Oxford Street, due to the crowds. It's basically a tourist attraction. If you absolutely have to shop in London, Westfield is (marginally) more bearable.

*takes jaded commuter hat off*

 

[RichmondCommu]

It should be noted that it's largely impossible to actually shop in Oxford Street, due to the crowds. It's basically a tourist attraction. If you absolutely have to shop in London, Westfield is (marginally) more bearable.

*takes jaded commuter hat off*

Personally I would do some window shopping in Bond Street rather than heading out to Shepherds Bush or Stratford for that matter!

 

[telstarbox]

90% of the Oxford Street shops are also available in Leeds!

 

[Antman]

Nobody seems to have mentioned the Science and Natural History museums at South Kensington, Piccadilly Line from Kings Cross, admission is free although there may be a charge for any special exhibitions. However you could easily spend a few hours there.

 

[Hadders]

How about taking a Javelin train from St Pancras to Stratford International (time to look round the Olympic Park)

DLR to Royal Victoria
Cable Car to North Greenwich
Thames Clipper to Waterloo

If times or funds permit a trip on the London Eye is hard to beat!

 

[DarloRich]

Nobody seems to have mentioned the Science and Natural History museums at South Kensington, Piccadilly Line from Kings Cross, admission is free although there may be a charge for any special exhibitions. However you could easily spend a few hours there.

well worth the few hours though! Also the national gallery or portrait gallery at Trafalgar square - free, warm and dry if it chucks it down.

 

[Clip]

Don't do the tourist stuff, it's rubbish. The attractions and surrounding areas are overpriced, rammed with overseas tourists, the food is crap and you'll leave saying "let's never go there again"



- Farringdon is a villagey, quiet part of town. Grab some lunch here in Byron (burgers), Benito's Hat (burritos) or the Tasty Cafe (proper full English) depending on your tastes.
!

You don't get ironing do you?

But the Thames clipper is a must from one end to the other and when you get to Greenwich walk past the Cutty Sark on the left hand side and keep going till you see Goddards Pie and Mash.

If you want views then the observatory is good for it but then on your way back take the DLR from Cutty Sark so you can go through the Docklands and then end up at Tower Gateway(change at Shadwell) for the Tower and then walk along the South Bank.

Plus whatever anyone else has said.

 

[Puffing Devil]

How about taking a Javelin train from St Pancras to Stratford International (time to look round the Olympic Park)

DLR to Royal Victoria
Cable Car to North Greenwich
Thames Clipper to Waterloo

If times or funds permit a trip on the London Eye is hard to beat!

Looks like a nice trip - not too touristy and moving all the time.